Coming to the Taste: Nancy Silverton

After working for years as pastry chef for Wolfgang Puck's Spago, she and then-husband Mark Peel opened Campanile in 1989, and it quickly became one of Southern California's most important restaurants. Pursuing her passion for bread, she started La Brea Bakery the same year, and it quickly became the benchmark for fine sourdough before she sold it in 2001.

In 2006, she joined partners Mario Batali and Joseph Bastianich in opening the Mozza Restaurant Group, owner of the overwhelmingly popular Osteria Mozza, Pizzeria Mozza and Mozza2Go.

She is also the author of "Nancy Silverton’s Sandwich Book," "Nancy Silverton’s Breads from the La Brea Bakery," "Desserts," and "The Mozza Cookbook," among others.

Silverton will be giving a cooking demonstration at the Labor Day Picnic portion of the Taste, on Sept. 2. Tickets are $65 and are available on the website.